Wire feeding and attaching system for camera lens suspensions

ABSTRACT

A wire feeding and bonding tool and method for attaching wires to a component having first and second spaced-apart wire attach structures. Wire from a supply is fed through a capillary having at least a linear end portion with a feed opening. The capillary is positioned with respect to the component to locate a first portion of the wire extending from the feed opening adjacent to the first wire attach structure, and the wire is attached to the first attach structure. The capillary is moved with respect to the component along a wire feed path to feed the wire from the first wire attach structure to the second wire attach structure and to locate a second portion of the wire extending from the feed opening adjacent to the second attach structure. The wire is attached to the second wire attach structure, and cut from the supply.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/086,871 filed on Mar. 31, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,840,662, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/142,182 filedon Apr. 2, 2015 and entitled Wire Feeding and Attaching System forCamera Lens Suspensions, each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety and for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to wire bonding systems used tomanufacture precision components. One embodiment of the invention is awire feeding and attaching system used in the manufacture of camera lenssuspensions such as those incorporated into mobile phones.

BACKGROUND

Small-scale, precision and other components sometimes include wires thatare attached or bonded to portions of those components. Manufacturingtooling or systems, sometimes known as wire bond systems, can be used toattach the wires to the components.

By way of example, PCT International Application Publication No. WO2014/083318 discloses a camera lens optical image stabilization (OIS)suspension system that has a moving assembly coupled to a stationarysupport assembly by four shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator wires. EachSMA actuator wire has one end attached to a crimp on the supportassembly, and an opposite end attached to a crimp on the movingassembly. In view of factors such as the relatively small scale of theOIS suspension system, the precision by which the actuator wires need tobe attached, and the relatively fragile or sensitive nature of wires, itcan be difficult to efficiently manufacture suspension systems of thesetypes.

There remains a continuing need for improved systems and method formanufacturing products having attached wires. In particular, there is aneed for such systems and methods that are capable of accurately andreliably attaching wires in precision components. Systems and methodshaving these capabilities that enable efficient and high-volumemanufacturing would be especially desirable.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention include a wire feeding and bonding tool andmethod capable of accurately and reliably attaching wires to precisioncomponents of the type having first and second spaced-apart wire attachstructures. An embodiment of the method includes feeding the wirethrough a capillary having an end portion with a feed opening andpositioning the capillary to locate a first portion of the wireextending from the feed opening adjacent to the first wire attachstructure. The first portion of the wire is attached to the first wireattach structure. The capillary is moved with respect to the componentalong a wire feed path to feed the wire from the first wire attachstructure to the second wire attach structure and to position thecapillary to locate a second portion of the wire extending from the feedopening adjacent to the second wire attach structure. The second portionof the wire is attached to the second wire attach structure. The wirecan be cut from a supply after it is attached to the second wire attachstructure.

In embodiments, the component wire attach structures can be crimps, andthe wire can be attached by deforming the crimps. Other embodiments ofthe method include clamping and releasing the wire with respect to thecapillary. Yet other embodiments of the method include tensioning thewire. In still other embodiments, the capillary has a linear endportion, and the capillary is moved while maintaining the linear endportion sufficiently coaxial with a wire axis extending between thefirst and second attach structures to reduce damage to the wire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a wire bonding tool in accordance withembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed illustration of the wire clamp assembly of the toolshown in FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a detailed top side illustration of the pedestal shown in FIG.1 with a component to which wires are to be attached claimed thereto.

FIG. 4 is a detailed illustration of crimping punches and a cutting toolof the wire bonding tool shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of portions of a component thatcan have wires bonded thereto by the tool of FIG. 1 , and a wire feedpath used by the tool.

FIGS. 6 a-6 n are diagrammatic illustrations of portions of the toolshown in FIG. 1 , illustrating a sequence of operations performed by thetool to bond wires to a component.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a part clamp in accordance with embodimentsof the invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of a capillary inspection systemin accordance with embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A wire feeding and bonding tool 10 in accordance with embodiments of theinvention can be described generally with reference to FIGS. 1-3 . Asshown, tool 10 includes a base 11 and a support such as pedestal 12 forholding a component 14 (e.g., a camera lens optical image stabilization(OIS) assembly), to which one or more wires are to be bonded by thetool. A wire clamp assembly 16 is mounted to and driven with respect tothe base 11 by an actuator such as stage 18. The wire clamp assembly 16includes a base 20, and a clamp 22 for holding a capillary 24. Thecapillary 24 is a tubular structure that has an end portion 26 with afeed opening 28 at its distal end. In embodiments, including theembodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the end portion 26 is linear. In otherembodiments the end portion 26 is nonlinear (e.g., it can be curved). Inthe illustrated embodiment, the entire length of the capillary 24 islinear. The wire clamp assembly 16 also includes a ruby wire guide 34and a wire clamp 36. Wire 32 to be attached to the component 14 issupplied from a supply 30 such as a spool. In embodiments, the supply 30is driven by a motor (not shown in FIG. 1 ). From the supply 30, thewire 32 extends through a tensioning mechanism 33 and by an opticalmicrometer 35 to the wire clamp assembly 16. On the wire clamp assembly16, the wire extends through the ruby wire guide 34 and clamp 36 beforeentering the proximal end of the capillary 24. The wire 32 extendsthrough the capillary 24 and out the feed opening 28. Stage 18 moves thewire clamp assembly 16 with respect to the pedestal 12 about one or moreaxes to position the capillary and the wire 32 extending from the feedopening 28 with respect to structures on the component 14 to which thewire is to be bonded. In embodiments, stage 18 moves the capillary aboutx, y, z and θ axes (i.e., four degrees of freedom). The capillary clamp22 allows the capillary 24 to be conveniently changed out in the eventit is damaged. Wire clamp 36 includes a base member 37 and a movingmember 39. An actuator (such as a solenoid, not shown) drives the movingmember 39 with respect to the base member 37 between a release positionthat allows the wire 32 to be fed to the capillary 24, and a clampposition inhibiting movement of the wire with respect to the capillary.

Tool 10 also includes one or more attachment tools positioned withrespect to the pedestal 12 for attaching the wire 32 to the component14. In embodiments described in greater detail below, tool 10 is used toattach wire 32 to components 14 that have deformable crimp attachstructures. Accordingly, and as shown in FIG. 4 , embodiments of theinvention include first and second crimping punches 40 and 41 that areactuated to deform the crimp attach structures so those structuresengage the wire 32. Other embodiments of the invention (not shown)include other types of attachment tools, such as, e.g., soldering,welding and conductive adhesive dispensing tools for attaching the wiresto the attach structures such as bonding areas on the component. Tool 10also includes a cutting tool 44, such as a punch with a sharp edge (alsoshown in FIG. 4 ), positioned with respect to the pedestal 12 to cut thewire 32 (e.g., at a location between the feed opening 28 and the wireattach structures on the component 14). As shown in FIG. 1 , in theillustrated embodiment of tool 10, the first and second crimping punches40 and 41 and the cutting tool 44 are reciprocally driven or actuated bycams 46 mounted to a shaft 48 that is driven by a motor 50. In theillustrated embodiment, the pedestal 12 is mounted to an actuator 60that moves the pedestal with respect to the base 11. In embodiments, theactuator 60 is a rotary index table to rotate the pedestal 12. In otherembodiments (not shown) the actuator 60 can take other forms.

As shown in FIG. 7 , embodiments of tool 10 also include a part clamp100′ that is incorporated into a die set with the crimping punches 40,41 and the cutting tool 44. In the illustrated embodiment, the clamp100′ has four clamp pads 102′ that extend from a base 104′. Clamp pads102′ are configured and positioned to engage a component 14 positionedon the pedestal 12. The part clamp 100′ is reciprocally driven oractuated by the cams 46 in embodiments.

A control system 66 illustrated generally in FIG. 1 is coupled to thestage 18, wire supply motor, micrometer 35, wire clamp actuator, motor50 and actuator 60. The control system 66 is a programmed controller inembodiments. As described in greater detail below, during operation ofthe tool 10, the control system 66: (1) actuates the stage 18 toposition the capillary 24 with respect to portions of the wire 32extending from the feed opening 28 presented at the wire attachstructures on the component 14, (2) actuates the stage 18 to move thecapillary 24 along a wire feed path between the attach structures on thecomponent 14, (3) actuates the motor 50 to drive the punches 40 and 41,(4) actuates the motor 50 to drive the cutting tool 44, (5) actuates thewire supply motor to pay out or feed wire from the supply 30, and (6)actuate the wire clamp 36 to clamp the wire 32 with respect to the clampassembly 16 (and therefore with respect to the capillary 24), and (7)actuates the motor 50 to drive the part clamp 100′ in embodiments.

In embodiments, the micrometer 35 provides information to the controlsystem 66 regarding wire 32 fed past the micrometer, and the controlsystem can use that information for active adjustment and control of thewire feed operations. For example, some embodiments of the invention canbe used with coated wire having spaced-apart uncoated regions atlocations where the wire is to be attached to the component 14. In suchembodiments the micrometer 35 can be used to provide informationrepresentative of the locations of the uncoated wire regions. Otherembodiments include other types of micrometers or other structures forproviding information representative of the wire 32 fed from the supply30. In embodiments, the wire supply motor can be a stepper motor with anencoder to provide information representative of the amount of actuationof the motor or supply 30 to the control system 66.

The tensioning mechanism 33 can include a weighted pendulum or dancerarm 51 and a rotary position sensor 52. Position sensor 52 is coupled tothe control system 66 and provides information representative of theposition of the dancer arm 51. A wire guide 53 is mounted to the end ofthe dancer arm 51 by a rotary bearing. As shown for example in FIG. 1 ,the wire 32 is routed between the supply 30 and the clamp assembly 16 bythe wire guide 53, and the dancer arm 51 and wire guide are displacedoff of the bottom dead center with respect to the rotational axis of theposition sensor 52. The weight of the dancer arm 51 and wire guide 53provides tension on the wire 32. The rotary position sensor 52 providesinformation to the control system 66 relating to the position of thedancer arm 51, enabling the control system to maintain the dancer arm atpositions to provide desired amounts of tension on the wire 32 (e.g.,maintaining the dancer arm position generally constant will provide aconstant tension on the wire).

In embodiments, tool 10 is configured to attach shape memory alloy(e.g., nitinol) wire 32 to a component 14 in the form of an actuator ofa camera lens optical image stabilization (OIS) system such as thatdescribed generally in PCT International Application Publication No. WO2014/083318. As shown for example in FIG. 3 , the actuator component 14is a four-sided and generally square-shaped member having a first orstationary member 70 and a second or moving member 72. Each side of thecomponent 14 includes a first wire attach structure in the form of acrimp 74 on the stationary member 70, and a second wire attach structurein the form of a crimp 76 on the moving member 72. Tool 10 attaches asection of wire 32 between the crimps 74 and 76 on each side of thecomponent 14.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of portions of the stationarymember 70 and crimp 74, and moving member 72 and crimp 76, on one sideof the component 14. A wire axis 80 corresponding to the location of asection of wire 32 extending between and attached to the component 14 bythe crimps 74 and 76 is illustrated. As described in greater detailbelow, during the attach process an end of the wire 32 (not shown inFIG. 5 ) extending from the feed opening 28 of the capillary 24 ispresented and attached to a first attach structure such as crimp 76. Thecapillary 24 is then driven along a feed path 82 to feed the wire fromcrimp 76 to the second wire attach structure such as crimp 74. Duringthis wire feed operation, the end portion 26 of the capillary 24 ismaintained in an orientation that causes the wire 32 to emerge from thefeed opening 28 sufficiently coaxial with the wire axis 80 to prevent,minimize or at least reduce the opportunity for damage to the wire 32.In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the linear end portion 26 ofthe capillary 24 (and the entire length of the capillary if it islinear) is maintained in an orientation that is sufficiently coaxialwith the wire axis 80 to prevent, minimize or at least reduce theopportunity for damage to the wire 32. In embodiments (not illustratedin FIG. 5 ), the wire feed path can be coaxial with the wire axis 80. Inother embodiments such as that illustrated in FIG. 5 , the wire feedpath 82 has at least portions that are not coaxial with the wire path80. As shown, wire feed path 82 includes a first section 84 that feedsthe wire 32 from the crimp 76 to a position opposite the crimp 74 fromthe crimp 76 and with the wire outside of the crimp 74, and a secondsection 86 that moves the wire into the crimp 74. First path section 84is at an angle and direction with respect to the wire axis 80 to provideclearance between the capillary 24 (and optionally other components ofthe tool 10) and the crimp 74. In embodiments, the angle between thefirst section 84 of the feed path 82 and the wire path 80 is relativelysmall to prevent, minimize or at least reduce damage to the wire 32during the feeding process. The second section 86 of the wire feed path82 is relatively short with respect to the length of the first pathsection 84, and moves the wire 32 into the crimp 74 so it can be engagedby deformation of the crimp. In the illustrated embodiment, first pathsection 84 is linear, and second path section 86 is generally linear andperpendicular to the first path section. In the illustrated embodiment,the end portion 26 of the capillary 24 is oriented generally parallel tothe wire axis 80 as the capillary is moved along the wire feed path 82.In other embodiments, the distal end portion 26 is oriented generallyparallel to the first path section 84 as the capillary is driven alongthe first path section. Still other embodiments include other wire feedpaths and orientations of the distal end portion 26 of the capillary 24,with the objective of preventing, minimizing or at least reducing damageto the wire 32 during the operation of tool 10. For example, in otherembodiments (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 6 g ), the second path section86 is a looping path from a location outside of the crimp 74, over thetop of the open crimp, and into the open crimp.

FIGS. 6 a-6 n illustrate embodiments of the operation of the tool 10.Pedestal 12 and actuator 60 are withdrawn from their operative positionswith respect to other components of the tool 10 such as the clampassembly 16 and the stage 18 to provide access to the pedestal. Anunwired component 14 is located on and clamped to the pedestal 12 (e.g.,by clamp 100 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 a-6 n ). The pedestal 12and actuator 60 are then returned to the operative positions at whichthe sections of wire 32 are attached. During a set-up operation, thewire 32 is fed from the supply 30 to the capillary 24, and a definedamount of wire is exposed beyond the feed opening 28 of the capillary.In other embodiments having a part clamp 102′ such as that described inconnection with FIG. 7 , the pedestal 12 with the component 14 thereonis returned to the operative position in an unclamped state, and themotor 50 is actuated to cause the part clamp to move and engage thecomponent, thereby securing the component onto the pedestal. In theseembodiments the part clamp 102′ remains engaged with the component 14throughout the wire feeding and attaching process described below, andfollowing the completion of the process the motor 50 is actuated toretract the part clamp from the component before the pedestal and wiredpart are moved from the operative position to the withdrawn position.

FIG. 6 a shows the pedestal 12 at a first position and orientation, witha first side of the component 14 having two unformed crimps 74 and 76,and the wire clamp assembly 16 at a first or home position with an endof the wire 32 extending from the feed opening 28 of the capillary 24 ina spaced-apart position from the crimps. With the wire 32 clamped withrespect to the wire clamp assembly 16 by wire clamp 36, and as shown inFIGS. 6 b and 6 c , the wire clamp assembly 16 is driven with respect tothe component 14 from the position shown in FIG. 6 a to a position wherethe capillary 24 presents the end of the wire 32 within the crimp 76. Inembodiments, the wire supply motor is actuated during this motion of theclamp assembly 16 to pay out wire from the source 30 while maintaining adesired tension on the wire 32 between the source and wire clamp 36. Thefirst crimping punch 40 is then actuated to deform the crimp 76 andcause the crimp to engage and attach the wire 32 as shown in FIGS. 6 dand 6 e.

After the wire 32 is attached to the crimp 76, the wire clamp 36 isactuated to release the wire 32, and the wire clamp assembly 16 isdriven with respect to the crimp 76 to expose the wire from thecapillary 24 and to feed the wire along the wire feed path as shown inFIGS. 6 f and 6 g (e.g., such as path 82 shown in FIG. 5 ), and positionthe wire within the crimp 74. The amount of wire 32 exposed during thisfeed operation is determined by the spacing between crimps 74 and 76,and any amount of extra slack or “buckle” desired in the section of thewire between the crimps. The wire clamp 36 is then actuated to clamp thewire 32, and the wire clamp assembly 16 is actuated to move thecapillary 24 back toward the crimp 76 to push the desired amount ofslack into the wire between the crimps 76 and 74. During this operation,the engagement between the capillary 24 and wire 32 helps ensure thatthe desired slack is located between the crimps 76 and 74 (i.e., ratherthan being located between the wire clamp 36 and the proximal end of thecapillary). After the wire 32 is properly located and tensioned in theopen crimp 74 by the procedure described above, the second crimpingpunch 41 is actuated to deform the crimp 74 and cause the crimp 74 toengage and attach the wire 32 as shown in FIG. 6 h.

With the wire attached to both crimps 76 and 74, the wire clamp 36 isactuated to release the wire 32. The wire clamp assembly 16 is thendriven away from the crimp 74 by a distance that is sufficient to enablethe wire 32 to be cut, and to pay out of the capillary 24 the desiredlength of wire to be located in the first crimp on the next side of thecomponent 14. Wire clamp 36 is then actuated to clamp the wire 32 to thewire clamp assembly 16, followed by actuation of the cutting tool 44 tocut the wire between the crimp 74 and the feed opening 28 as shown inFIG. 6 i . The appropriate amount of exposed wire for the next attachingsequence then extends from the feed opening 28. Punches 40 and 41 andcutting tool 44 are then retracted in the illustrated embodiment asshown in FIGS. 6 j and 6 k , and the wire clamp assembly 16 is actuatedand returned to its home position shown in FIG. 6 l . In otherembodiments, a sufficient length of wire 32 to enable the wire to be cutis payed out or fed during the wire pay-out and feeding steps describedin connection with FIGS. 6 f and 6 g . Steps including (1) actuating thewire clamp 36 to release the wire 32, (2) driving the wire clampassembly 16 away from the crimp 74 to provide the additional and desiredlength wire to enable the cutting step, and (3) actuating the wire clampto clamp the wire, as described above in connection with FIG. 6 i , canbe eliminated by this approach to improve the wiring assembly cycletime.

After the section of wire 32 is attached to the crimps 74 and 76 on afirst side of the component 14, actuator 60 is actuated to rotate thepedestal 12 (e.g., 90°) and locate another (e.g., second) side of thecomponent 14 having crimps 74 and 76 with respect to the wire clampassembly 16 as indicated by FIGS. 6 m and 6 n . The process describedand illustrated with respect to FIGS. 6 a-6 l is then repeated to attacha second section of wire 32 to the crimps 74 and 76 on the second sideof the component 14. The process described and illustrated above is thenrepeated to attach sections of the wire 32 to the crimps 74 and 76 onthe third and fourth sides of the component 14. The pedestal 12 andactuator 60 are withdrawn from their operative positions with respect tothe clamping assembly 36 and stage 18, and the component 14 with theattached sections of wire 32 can be removed from the pedestal 12. Theprocess described and illustrated above can then be repeated withanother component 14.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a capillary inspection system 150 that canbe used with tool 10. As shown, inspection system 150 includes one ormore imaging devices such as cameras 152 coupled to an image processor154. Image processor 154 can be hardware and/or software based, and canbe included in control system 66. Capillaries such as 24 can be delicatetooling components and may be damaged during operation of tool 10 (e.g.,by operator handling). The capillaries 24 are also subject tomanufacturing tolerances. Inspection system 150 can be used to identifydamaged, misaligned or otherwise out-of-tolerance capillaries 24. Duringa tool set-up procedure, a rigid and precise fixture (not shown) thatreplicates the shape, tolerances and other characteristics and featuresof a desired capillary 24 is mounted to the wire clamp assembly 16. Thecapillary set-up fixture is imaged by the cameras 152, and the imagesare received by the image processor 154 and used by the image processoras a reference framework. After the reference framework is established,the capillary set-up fixture is removed and a capillary 24 is positionedin the wire clamp assembly 16. Prior to operation of the tool 10following the installation of the capillary 24, and/or periodicallyduring operation of the tool, images of the capillary (also produced bythe cameras 152) are processed and evaluated by processor 154 (e.g.,compared to the reference framework). If capillary variations of a typeand/or degree within a predetermined threshold are identified (e.g., ifthe position of the feed opening 28 is slightly misaligned or misplacedfrom a desired position), control system 66 can compensate for thevariations during the wire attaching process. If identified capillaryvariations are of a type and/or amount greater than a predeterminedthreshold, the image processor or control system 66 can issue an alertto an operator. The operator can then take appropriate action.

The wire bonding tool and associated method offer a number of importantadvantages. Wire such as the SMA wire attached to OIS components isrelatively fragile and susceptible to damage (e.g., when bonding thewire onto the components). Supporting the wire in a capillary duringbonding and other processes using the wire can prevent, minimize or atleast reduce damage to the wire. By way of non-limiting example, in someembodiments nitinol wire 32 attached to OIS components such as 14 isabout 27-29 μm in diameter (including an outer coating). In theseembodiments the use of a capillary 24 of stainless steel and having aninner diameter of about 38 μm has been determined to provide advantagesof the type described above. Other embodiments use capillaries and wirehaving other dimensions. The capillary 24 can also be formed from othermaterials, such as polymers. Dispensing wire from the capillarycoaxially, or at a relatively small angle with respect to coaxially,reduces damage to the wire while allowing the wire to be manipulated. Inaddition to enhancing the efficiency of the wire attach process, thetool enables the speed and therefore volume of the attach process to beincreased.

Although the invention has been described with reference to preferredembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can bemade in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

For example, in other embodiments, one or more wire sections can beattached to the component by different wiring/assembly tools (e.g., atdifferent stations, as an alternative to rotating the component withrespect to a single attachment tool). Each such wiring/assembly tool canbe dedicated to attaching a wire section to one side of the component,and the component can be transported between the tools. The methods bywhich the wire sections are attached at such different tools can be thesame or similar to the methods described above.

Different wire feeding, clamping and/or tensioning structures can beimplemented. For example, clamp 36 can be actuated by piezo electric ormicro-motor actuators for enhanced speed. In embodiments described inconnection with FIG. 1 , the wire tension provided by the tensioningmechanism is maintained primarily and throughout the wiring process withrespect to portions of the wire that are secured or fixed by a clampassembly, crimp or other attachment structure. The securing or fixationfunction is periodically switched between the clamp assembly and thecrimp. During situations when the wire is not sufficiently retained by acrimp and the clamp opens, the wire tension can cause the wire tounthread through and from the capillary (i.e., in a direction oppositeand away from the feed opening). “Dropped wire” events of this type cancause tool downtime while the wire is re-threaded into the capillary andassociated set-up procedures are completed. Embodiments of the inventionincorporate wire retention mechanisms that reduce the opportunities forsuch dropped wire events. For example, embodiments include slip clutch,rollers and/or other mechanisms that do not completely release the wire.One such mechanism can allow the wire to slip in one direction (i.e.,the feed direction), but not the other, by closely controlling sliptension thresholds. Another mechanism uses roller contacts to retain thewire, and targeted slip clutch settings to selectively control wireslip. Embodiments using driven rollers (e.g., with motors coupled to thecontrol system) to pay out the wire would have certain advantages. Thesame rollers can be used to simplify the initial set-up by automatingthe capillary threading process, purging any potentially damaged wireand synchronizing positions of uncoated wire regions. Certain steps inthe wire attach process may be more efficiently performed by paying outadditional wire instead of the unclamp/translate/reclamp/translateprocess of embodiments described in connection with FIG. 1 .

Wire feeding by the embodiments described in connection with FIG. 1 isdone by moving the clamp assembly (and capillary) about x, y, z and θaxes (e.g., four degrees of freedom) with respect to a relatively fixedcomponent (other than rotation of the component by the actuated pedestalto present different sides of the component). The same or similarrelative wire feeding (e.g., wire feed paths) can be achieved byproviding some or all of the degrees of freedom movement throughmovement of the component. For example, in embodiments, the tool isconfigured with a clamp assembly that translates about x and y axes, anda pedestal that this driven by an actuator in z and θ axes. Wire feedingpaths such as those described above can be achieved by differentcombinations of motion of the clamp assembly and component (e.g., thepedestal, instead of the clamp assembly, can be driven throughrelatively small ranges of motion about the z and θ axes).

The invention claimed is:
 1. A wire feeding and bonding tool,comprising: a support configured to hold a component to which a wire isto be attached, the component has at least first and second spaced-apartwire attach structures to which the wire can be attached, and a firstwire axis extends between the first and second wire attach structures;and a wire clamp assembly adjacent to the support, the wire clampassembly including: a capillary having an end portion with a feedopening and configured to receive a wire that extends from the feedopening; a stage for moving the capillary with respect to the support toposition the capillary and the wire extending from the feed opening; anattachment component adjacent to the support and configured to attachthe wire to the first and second wire attach structures; and acontroller electrically coupled to the stage and the attachment tool,wherein the controller is configured to cause the stage to actuate toposition the capillary with portions of the wire extending from the feedopening along a wire feed path and feed the wire from the first wireattach structure to the second wire attach structure with the wireemerging from the feed opening coaxially with the wire axis; and whereinthe controller is also configured to actuate the attachment component toattach the wire to the first and second attach structures.
 2. The wirefeeding and bonding tool of claim 1, wherein the component has at leastone bonding area, and the controller is configured to cause the stage toactuate to position the capillary with portions of the wire extendingfrom the feed opening extending into the bonding areas; and theattachment component includes at least one soldering tool to attach thewire to the first and second wire attach structures.
 3. The wire feedingand bonding tool of claim 1, wherein the component has at least onebonding area, and the controller is configured to cause the stage toactuate to position the capillary with portions of the wire extendingfrom the feed opening extending into the bonding areas; and theattachment component includes at least one welding tool to attach thewire to the first and second wire attach structures.
 4. The wire feedingand bonding tool of claim 1, wherein the component has at least onebonding area, and the controller is configured to cause the stage toactuate to position the capillary with portions of the wire extendingfrom the feed opening extending into the bonding areas; and theattachment component includes at least one conductive adhesivedispensing tool to attach the wire to the first and second wire attachstructures.
 5. The wire feeding and bonding tool of claim 1, wherein:the capillary includes a linear end portion; and the controller isconfigured to the stage to actuate to move the capillary with the linearend portion coaxially with the wire axis to reduce damage to the wire.6. The wire feeding and bonding tool of claim 1, wherein: the controlleris configured to cause the stage to actuate to move the capillary awayfrom the first wire attach structure along a first portion of the wirefeed path that is generally linear; and the controller is configured tocause the stage to actuate to move the capillary during a second portionof the wire feed path that is generally perpendicular to the firstportion of the wire feed path, and the second portion of the wire feedpath is shorter than the first portion of the wire feed path.
 7. Thewire feeding and bonding tool of claim 6, wherein the controller isconfigured to actuate the stage to move the capillary through a loopingpath during the second portion of the wire feed path.
 8. The wirefeeding and bonding tool of claim 1 comprising a cutting tool positionedwith respect to the support to cut the wire and the controller isconfigured to cause the cutting tool to actuate to cut the wire.
 9. Thewire feeding and bonding tool of claim 8, wherein the controller isconfigured to: cause the stage to actuate to position the capillary withan end of the wire extending from the feed opening adjacent to the firstwire attach structure; cause the attachment component to actuate toattach the end of the wire adjacent to the first wire attach structureto the first wire attach structure; cause the stage to actuate to movethe capillary along the wire feed path after the wire is attached to thefirst attach structure, and to position a portion of the wire extendingfrom the capillary adjacent to the second wire attach structure; causethe attachment component to actuate to attach the portion of the wireadjacent to the second wire attach structure to the second wire attachstructure; and cause the cutting tool to actuate to cut the portion ofthe wire attached to the second attach structure from a portionextending from the feed opening.
 10. The wire feeding and bonding toolof claim 9 wherein the component has first and second attach structures,each with a bonding area, and the controller is configured to cause thestage to actuate to position the capillary with the wire extending fromthe feed opening into the bonding areas; and the attachment componentincludes at least one soldering tool to attach the wires within bondingareas of the first and second attach structures.
 11. The wire feedingand bonding tool of claim 9, wherein the component has first and secondattach structures, each with a bonding area, and the controller isconfigured to cause the stage to actuate to position the capillary withthe wire extending from the feed opening into the bonding areas; and theattachment component includes at least one welding tool to attach thewires within bonding areas of the first and second attach structures.12. The wire feeding and bonding tool of claim 9, wherein the componenthas first and second attach structures, each with a bonding area, andthe controller is configured to cause the stage to actuate to positionthe capillary with the wire extending from the feed opening into thebonding areas; and the attachment component includes at least oneconductive adhesive dispensing tool to attach the wires within thebonding areas of the first and second attach structures.
 13. The wirefeeding and bonding tool of claim 9, wherein the component has at leastthird and fourth wire attach structures, each with a bonding area, andwherein a second wire attach axis that is non-collinear with the firstwire attach axis extends between the third and fourth bonding areas, andthe wire feeding and bonding tool includes a support actuator coupled tothe controller to rotate the support with respect to the wire feedsystem; and the controller is configured to: cause the support actuatorto actuate to rotate the support and component held thereon; cause thestage to actuate to position the capillary with an end of the wireextending from the feed opening into to the third bonding area; causethe attachment component to actuate to attach the wire to the thirdbonding area; cause the stage to actuate to move the capillary along thewire feed path after the wire is attached to the third bonding area, andto position a portion of the wire extending from the capillary into thefourth bonding area; cause the attachment component to actuate to attachthe wire to the fourth bonding area; and cause the cutting tool toactuate to cut the portion of the wire attached to the fourth bondingarea from a portion extending from the feed opening.
 14. The wirefeeding and bonding tool of claim 13, wherein: the controller isconfigured cause the stage to actuate to move the capillary away fromthe first wire attach structure along a first portion of the wire feedpath that is generally linear; the controller is configured to cause thestage to actuate to move the capillary during a second portion of thewire feed path that is generally perpendicular to the first portion ofthe wire feed path to position the wire adjacent to the second wireattach structure, and wherein the second portion of the wire feed pathis shorter than the first portion of the wire feed path; the controlleris configured to cause the stage to actuate to move the capillary awayfrom the third wire attach structure along a first portion of the wirefeed path that is generally linear; and the controller is configured tocause the stage to actuate to move the capillary during a second portionof the wire feed path that is generally perpendicular to the firstportion of the wire feed path to position the wire adjacent to thefourth wire attach structure, and the second portion of the wire feedpath is shorter than the first portion of the wire feed path.
 15. Thewire feeding and bonding tool of claim 9, comprising a tensioner totension the wire.
 16. The wire feeding and bonding tool of claim 9,wherein: the capillary includes a linear end portion; and the controlleris configured to cause the stage to actuate to move the capillary withthe linear end portion sufficiently coaxial with the wire axis to reducedamage to the wire.
 17. The wire feeding and bonding tool of claim 1,wherein: the tool includes a clamp coupled to the control system toreleasably fix the position of the wire with respect to the capillary;and the control system is configured to: cause the stage to actuate toposition the capillary with an end of the wire extending from the feedopening adjacent to the first wire attach structure; cause theattachment component to actuate to attach the end of the wire adjacentto the first wire attach structure to the first wire attach structure;cause the stage to actuate to move the capillary after the wire isattached to the first attach structure, to feed wire from the capillaryand to position a portion of the wire extending from the capillaryadjacent to the second wire attach structure; cause the clamp to actuateto fix the wire with respect to the capillary after the portion of thewire is positioned adjacent to the second wire attach structure; causethe stage to actuate to move the capillary with the fixed wire towardthe second attachment structure to push slack into the wire between thefirst and second attachment structures; and cause the attachmentcomponent to actuate to attach the wire to the second wire attachstructure.
 18. The wire feeding and bonding tool of claim 1 comprising amonitor to identify locations of uncoated regions on the wire; and thecontrol system is coupled to the monitor and causes the location of thewire with respect to the capillary to be adjusted as a function of theidentified locations of the uncoated regions of the wire.
 19. The wirefeeding and bonding tool of claim 1 comprising a tensioner to applytension to the wire.
 20. The wire feeding and bonding tool of claim 1comprising a capillary clamp mounted to the stage, to releasably holdthe capillary.